By Our Diplomatic Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has vowed to continue its efforts to promote peace between the US and Iran after the two countries exchanged strikes following a month-long lull in hostilities.
“Despite recent escalations, we remain hopeful, and we will continue to strive for dialogue and diplomacy,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at a weekly press briefing on Wednesday.
Renewed fighting ends a period of relative calm since July, during which Washington and Tehran largely withheld fire but showed little interest in resuming talks.
Andrabi said both sides had carried out armed attacks and retaliatory strikes in the US-Iran conflict, while Islamabad was closely monitoring the situation.
He said armed conflicts typically move through stages of de-escalation, calm, ceasefire and eventually a return to the negotiating table.
Describing the current escalation as “concerning and undesirable”, he said Pakistan had not lost hope in the peace process.
The spokesperson said the latest US-Iran escalation could not be characterised as a failure of Islamabad’s diplomatic efforts, adding that the country was engaging in the peace process with complete sincerity to help resolve the US-Iran conflict.
Andrabi said Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts would continue and expressed hope that the two sides would eventually return to the negotiating table once the current escalation subsided.
He said the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) provided a framework for bringing the parties back to negotiations and could be used if they were willing to resume talks.
The Islamabad MoU was agreed between Tehran and Washington on June 18 as a 14-point interim framework aimed at ending the conflict.
Islamabad has since continued to facilitate communication between the two sides and promote dialogue, de-escalation and a peaceful resolution. Under the Islamabad MoU, the parties could restart negotiations at political and technical levels to work towards a long-term and sustainable solution, the FO spokesperson added.
Andrabi said the peace framework outlined in the Islamabad MoU remained in place and there was no question of declaring it dead or ineffective. He said it was not unusual for both sides to issue strong statements during periods of heightened tensions, adding that Islamabad remained hopeful about the eventual resumption of negotiations. Andrabi said Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir’s visit to Tehran last week had been an important part of those diplomatic efforts.
He said the CDF’s visit focused on reducing regional tensions and resolving the conflict through negotiations, while creating fresh momentum in the diplomatic process.
The spokesperson said visits by the leadership of Oman and Qatar following the Tehran trip also demonstrated momentum in efforts to resolve the conflict.
He said Pakistan would continue pursuing dialogue and diplomacy to promote peace and stability in the region.
